Jealousy
by Asagi Tsuki
Summary: A girl came out of nowhere, claiming to be Kantarou's girlfriend to make Haruka jealous, while she, together with some other people, decided to play matchmaker on them. discontinued
1. Chapter One

**Jealousy**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Summary: A mysterious lady appears out of nowhere and claims to be Kantarou's girlfriend, and Haruka is jealous

Asagi: My first Tactics fic. Hope you enjoy. Okay, so this fic is dedicated to my friends Whity and Ravient. Thanks for your support. This fic is finally here because of you guys.

Byaku Ogami: what about me?

Asagi: oh, you're not included. Since you've only been with me for a short while, you're not included. Period.

Byaku Ogami: and that's why you half my share of food?

Asagi: I have a dog too, mind you

Byaku Ogami: I'm not a damn dog!

Asagi: but you come from the dog family

Byaku Ogami: why you- we wolves are proud creatures

Asagi: like I give a damn. Anyway, on to the story oh, and before I forget, I changed the borders into letters since the special characters are missing. Damn obviously KantarouxHaruka, and a bit KantarouxOC

Disclaimer: I don't own Tactics

**Chapter One The Mysterious Lady**

A girl –though she looked old enough to be called a lady- stood in front of an old Japanese house, holding the sleeve of her kimono close. She was wearing a brilliant blue kimono with blood red sash, and a geta to accompany it. Her hair was silvery and long, and it was left just like that, not braided, not tied.

Although she had the face of a sweet lady, her behavior was nowhere near one. She ran all the way to the house while searching for a supposedly someone –just like a man would- and she even talked like a man. Many people dismissed the strange, disturbing thought, because she was the famous miko from the nearby shrine, and so, they didn't dare to bring up such strange thing.

She smirked when she had made sure that it was the right house –just like a maniac would, and this proved one more of her strange behavior- and raised her right hand up to bang on the door, when she was reminded of something and softened the bang into a knock instead.

"I should really stop doing these things," she sighed and complained to herself though she knew it wouldn't do much. She continued to knock on the door as she heard the voice of a young maiden from the inside of the house, telling her to wait as she came to get her. "Well, anyway, I'm going to meet him today, at last," she smirked, yet again.

"Ohayou!" a girl in red kimono with flower pattern greeted as she opened the door. She looked a bit taken aback when she saw the lady, as she wasn't expecting her, but another little girl instead. "Uh, welcome, do you have any business with Kan-chan?" she asked, stuttering a bit.

"Yes, please, I have to meet with Kantarou," she smiled sweetly at her. "He's home, isn't he?" she asked. True, he was a bit busy because he had two jobs at a time, being a writer and an exorcist while she herself only got one job, as the miko at the nearby shrine. Oh, make it three. He's also a folklorist.

"Yes, he's at home, he's in his study with Haruka-chan," the girl nodded her head and welcomed the lady in, "Please come in, I'll show you the way to his study," she proposed and the lady agreed. She turned around and led the way to the study, knocking the door before sliding it open. "Kan-chan, someone is here to see you," she said.

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A man with silver hair sat in front of his desk as he stared at the blank papers in front of him. He was supposed to write an article about the recent exorcism, but he wasn't in the mood to do such thing, and remembering the fact that he lost consciousness in midway during the exorcism due to fatigue didn't help.

He was even embarrassed by it. Sure, his companion had carried on the mission for him and they were both safe and sound when they came home, but wasn't he the exorcist? His editor didn't know this and she made a proposal yesterday. She asked him to write an article about it, but he wasn't sure about what to write.

"Ne, Haruka," he started, taking the attention of his dark haired companion, "What happened after I… uh, well, after I can't go on with the mission?" he asked, trying to lessen the embarrassment as much as he could. "Or should I just tell her that I can't write this one?" he sighed.

Haruka merely opened his eyes to stare at his silver-headed master sharply, before he leant his head on the wooden pillar and closed his eyes again, stating coldly, "Nothing,"

"Nothing? Then how do we finish the mission? I'm not a sleepwalker," Kantarou sighed as his head slumped. He placed his head on his desk and stared at the side, to the bookshelf where he had put many books on folklores. "I've got nothing to do lately too," he added with another sigh in addition.

"Just tell her you can't do this one," Haruka said nonchalantly.

"Easy to say," Kantarou rolled his eyes as he sneered a bit. "We're short on money these days," he got up from his desk, and started pacing around the room. "Hm, what should I do?" he asked himself as he continued to pace around the room, despite his action was annoying Haruka greatly.

"That's right! I can ask him!" he said suddenly and that made the demon-eater stare at him with a look that somehow said 'I don't know my master is crazy'. "Yeah, I'll just have to ask the other about his whereabouts," he took a deep breath, "Now, where would Youko-chan be…"

"Kan-chan, someone is here to see you," came the voice of the aforementioned Youko-chan.

"Another customer?" he asked as he raised one of his eyebrows. This took the attention of the demon-eater that was sitting against the wood pillar too.

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"Another customer?" came the reply from behind the paper door. The sound of shuffling feet was heard as the owner walked over to the paper door and carefully slid the door open, as if he was afraid it would be the one from yesterday. He was surprised when he saw the girl in front of him. "A-"

"Kan-chan!" the girl jumped at him, without giving him any time to finish what he was about to say when he first saw her, and hugged him tightly, too tight, even, "I've always wanted to see you!" she exclaimed happily as she beamed as she jumped up and down, bring him with her.

"Yes, yes, I want to see you too, so, can you let go of me now?" he asked as he tried to pry her off of him. He even had to turn his head around whenever the girl's hair went astray and covered his sight. "I really want to see you, so let go of me now," he repeated as he continued to try to pry her off.

"Hey! That's no way to treat someone who hadn't seen you for so long!" she pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to look like a pouting child, though she can't do it very well because she looked a bit like Ayame (from Fruits Basket), before batting her hair to keep them in place.

"Is that so? It sure doesn't feel that long," Kantarou racked his brain in order to remember just when he was separated from her. He can't really remember, so he just shook his head. "So, what are you doing here? I was just about to go find you," he asked as he eyed the girl warily. The last time the girl looked for him, she brought trouble. And a big one at that.

"Looking for you, of course," she grinned, obviously stating the obvious, and continued, "You've grown up pretty well, Kan-chan," she smiled proudly at the sight of the silver haired man, "I've always remembered how we're bullied by those kids," she laughed when she remembered the day when they fought with the other kids.

"I'm proud of you too, for being the successor of the shrine and all," he hugged her and sighed, really, he could never leave her alone, someone had to keep an eye on her, or else, disaster would befall upon him, "But you sure hadn't grown any taller," he added jokingly.

"You too," she glared at him, though not seriously. He let go of her, and she straightened up, looking up to look at Kantarou in the eye, "So, have you found the demon-eater you adored so much?" she asked as she smirked her trademark smirk.

He merely stood there for a while, before his eyes start moving, as if asking her to look at the direction where his eyes were looking at. She caught the sign and looked over at Haruka, who was looking disinterested as he stayed in place, leaning on the wooden pillar.

There was silence as she moved her eyes up and down, examining the demon-eater from his hair to his toe. She blinked her eyes several times, as if not believing that the real legendary demon-eater is sitting in front of her, bowing to Kantarou who had broken the seal and had given him a name.

"So you've found him!" she exclaimed happily and suddenly, and this made Kantarou and Youko surprised. Even Haruka who wasn't expecting it was surprised, though he hid it pretty well, "I was so sure you'd find him and broke the seal, congrats Kan-chan!" she took his hand and shook it vigorously, fiercely even, if possible.

"Y- yeah, thanks," he replied, being shook up and down, trying to get his hand out of her grasp. How a girl with such small build could possess such power was beyond him. He had always wondered about that for a long time, since she stood up for him back then when he fought the other kids. And if you didn't know, she won. "And so, what are you doing here, a-"

"What? Don't you want to see your girlfriend again after so long?" she asked as a wide smile began to form in her face. However, Kantarou wasn't the least bit amused. Whenever she showed that smile, it meant trouble.

She threw a glance at Haruka who still looked disinterested, and smirked. She knew what she was doing. She was the most calculative one in her family, and she wasn't going to disappoint the others by letting herself do anything without further calculation and expectation.

"What are you talking about? You're my a-" Kantarou was about to protest, but the girl shut his mouth with her hand. He blinked as he stared at her two sharp ruby red eyes. They told him to stay quiet, and she would be very mad if he didn't comply.

So, he was afraid of her. He didn't dare to not comply, so when she asked for agreement, he merely nodded his head and the girl let go of him. However, he wasn't sure. He knew he shouldn't tell the others about it yet, but why would she do that? Surely she had a purpose to do that.

"Your a? Hm, you're really funny, Kan-chan, you didn't forget me, right? I'm Maki!" she said in an excited tone, though her eyes stayed sharp as they explored the room, and stopped at Haruka once again, who still looked disinterested. She 'tsk'ed before she turned her head back to Kantarou.

"What's wrong with you? Did you bump your head to a pole on the way here?" Kantarou asked worriedly as he started looking for any visible bumps on the so-called Maki's head, brushing her hair back to look around her head. When he found no bumps, he was a bit disappointed.

So the craziness wasn't because of a bump. And that meant that she was fully aware of what she was doing and she had calculated the outcome of what she was doing. This really meant doom for him.

"Of course not," she smiled widely when Kantarou had given up searching for any bumps on her head. "And I suppose this is the youkai you took in as your maid," she turned over to Youko, who was surprised when she suddenly said that. Her smile didn't falter. It even widened as she stared at Youko.

"Eh?" she asked, a bit nervous for being watched like that. She knew that Maki wasn't over to ask for help in exorcising, since she seemed to know Kantarou well. And she did mention the times when they were still little. It meant that she is at least his childhood friend or so.

"How do you do? I'm Maki," she kept her smile in place and held out her hand towards Youko for a shake, "Thank you for taking care of Kantarou all this time," she added with another smile.

"I- I'm Youko," she replied as she held out her hand and shook Maki's hand. She was still a tad bit nervous, but not too much anymore since she thought that maybe Maki's a nice person after all. Maybe. Just maybe.

"Youko-chan ka? I'm pleased to meet you," she said as she let go of the fox demon's hand, then turned over to face Kantarou who was standing behind her, still, thinking for anything that would made her do that. "Now, shall we go on a walk, Kan-chan? My treat," she asked.

"Really?" he asked excitedly, snapping out of his reverie at the first mention of 'my treat'. He was always quick whenever someone offered him something, "Okay then!" he agreed excitedly, deciding that he should just let the subject drop for a while, before asking her later when they were out of the house, "Just don't take long Mako- Maki," he said before he went out the house.

Maki stared at the vanishing figure of Kantarou, and when she had made sure he was out of the house, she turned towards the fox demon once again, "Youko-chan," she started, looking at her in the eye with her sharp ruby red eyes, "I need to talk to you for a while," she added with a sly smile.

"Eh?" Youko asked, a strange expression plastered on her face as she was confused as to why Maki would want to talk to her of all people. It must be something about Kantarou that she didn't dare tell Haruka, but she couldn't jump into conclusion that fast, could she? So instead, she nodded, and let Maki led her to the front door.

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A little girl around the age of twelve was walking down the path to the same old Japanese house. She was a girl with short brown hair, and by the looks, one could tell that she originated from a wealthy family.

She was walking down the path when she noticed the owner of the house walking towards her direction with a girl clad in blue kimono. They looked so happy together. They were both talking, and laughing. One could tell that they were sharing stories, as they look like gossiping women.

"Kantarou?" she called out to the owner of the house when he was coming near. She didn't even bother to add anything to address him as she was never too fond of him.

Kantarou turned his head to the general direction where the voice had come from, and noticed a girl with short brown hair coming towards him as well, "Ah, Suzu-chan, did you come over to see Haruka again?" he asked as he acknowledged the little girl who nodded, "He's at home with Youko right now, just come over, okay?" he smiled at her.

"Where are you going?" she asked as she stared at the girl in the brilliant blue kimono warily. She admitted that she was a beautiful girl, but if she happened to like Haruka, she won't be beaten by her. She stared and stared. Somehow she looked… different. And somehow she could tell.

"We're going to a tea shop nearby," Maki, the lady in the brilliant blue kimono, offered a reply as well as a smile. "Would you join us?" she asked as she smiled sweetly at the little girl.

"No thanks, I'm on my way," she declined the offer somewhat politely as she shook her head, though her eyes never let the figure go from their watchful gazes.

"Oh, okay then, we're on our way as well," she smiled at the little girl and nodded, before the both of them continued their walk to the village center, where the tea shops are situated.

Suzu stared at the lady suspiciously. She wasn't a stranger. Yet she wasn't his girlfriend, and she was sure of it. She kept something a secret for a purpose, but what the purpose is, she couldn't really tell.

She decided to shrug the thoughts off and continued on her way to the old Japanese house where Kantarou resided.

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"Ah, ohayou, Suzu-chan," Youko greeted as she welcomed the little girl. This time, she wasn't surprised because she was fully expecting her. "Please, come in," she stepped aside and let the girl went in first, before she closed the door, blocking the sunlight from penetrating inside.

"Where's Haruka-san?" Suzu asked immediately as soon as she stepped inside of the house.

"He's at Kan-chan's study," Youko answered, fully expecting it again, but her smile was soon gone, "But he looks like he's in a bad mood now," she commented further as her eyebrows furrowed. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the floor intently, looking deep in thought for a while.

"Bad mood?" Suzu asked as she looked up to see the fox demon's face that looked all scrunched up.

"Yes," Youko nodded, "He's like usual, but I can tell that something is bothering him and he's not too happy about it," she explained, her expression still pretty much the same, "Well, anyway, let's just go see him, okay?" she asked as she led the way to Kantarou's study, even though she was sure Suzu knew the way there.

They slid the paper door slightly and slowly, careful because they didn't want the demon-eater's mood to get worse, only to take a look at Haruka, who was still leaning on the wooden pillar. He seemed to love the wooden pillar, one would say if one didn't know better than that.

"What?" he asked suddenly as he snapped his eyes open and turned his head to the general direction of the paper door. This startled the two girls as they both nearly jumped up in surprise, both letting out a loud 'eep'.

"If you come here to look for Kantarou, he's out on a date," he said coldly, just like usual, as he turned around, facing the window. But the two girls knew he was dozing off yet again.

Both girls kept silent. Youko motioned to Haruka and stared at Suzu, as if asking her if she understood what she had said earlier. Suzu nodded in response, and both closed the paper door, before they walked away from there to the back garden.

'Wow, Maki-san is right,' Youko shook her head as she thought to herself while she guided the little girl to the back garden.

**End of Chapter One**

Asagi: okay, so it's the end of the first chapter. Let's make things clear. Maki is NOT an MS. See the slip-offs? I'll tell you who Maki is in the next chapter, and why she claims to be Kantarou's girlfriend. Anyway, I'm not one for het, so don't expect any from me, okay?

Byaku Ogami: that's because she's abnormal

Asagi: hey I'm not! Many people like shounen ai, right?

Byaku Ogami: yeah, yeah

Asagi: hey! What's that supposed to mean?

Byaku Ogami: anyway, please leave a review, because my master has some kind of strange symptoms I don't know what, so please have mercy on my crazed master

Asagi: I heard that Ogami. Anyway, those (separator)s are the separators, so please don't think it's part of a story, I can't use hyphens or lines to separate each part, and so, I choose to use these separators, please bear it. Arigatou gozaimasu


	2. Chapter Two

**Jealousy**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Asagi: hiya, the next chapter is up

Byaku Ogami: and you all will have to tolerate with her screwed up mind again

Asagi: please don't mind him, he's having his period

Byaku Ogami: can I?

Asagi: why not?

Byaku Ogami: rolls eyes stupid master

Asagi: anyway, say the disclaimer Byaku!

Byaku Ogami: why do you always call me Byaku?

Asagi: because it feels like calling you Byakko

Byaku Ogami: whatever. Anyway, she doesn't own Tactics, if she does, I don't know what this world will turn into

Asagi: Byaku, I don't ask you to add that. Anyway, onto the story

**Chapter Two -– It's a Brother?**

Two girls were sitting on the wooden floor of the outlines of the house. They were at the back garden, staring intensely at the fish pond over because they found nothing more interesting than that. It had been a good ten minutes after they both had entered the study only to be confronted by a brooding black haired man, and they hadn't talked even once.

"Youko-san," one of the two girls, the girl with short fair brown hair, finally started, getting annoyed by the silence. "What happened to Haruka-san?" she asked, as if she didn't know the obvious. Of course she knew the aforementioned Haruka, the certain brooding black haired man, was having a bad mood, but she didn't want to admit that she knew the cause.

"Well, you know, he has been unhappy since Maki-san come here," Youko, the second girl, the girl with shoulder length dark brown hair who is actually a fox demon, answered simply. "Did you see a lady with long silver hair walking with Kan-chan on your way here, Suzu-chan?" she asked.

"Yeah, I met them," Suzu nodded her head. She remembered the way the lady smiled. It was very sweet, yet unladylike. She couldn't tell why she could tell, but she could tell. "The one with pretty face, but cool at the same time," she commented further, "She's strange, but kind enough, she even asks me to go with them to the tea shop," she finished.

"Yeah, pretty and cool," Youko nodded her head, a grin started to spread on her features, "Hey, you do know why Haruka-san is brooding, right?" she asked the little girl who merely nodded, even though involuntarily since it wasn't because of her, "Well then, let's play matchmaker, are you up to it?" she asked.

"Match…maker?" Suzu asked unsurely. Of course she knew what it meant, she wasn't dumb, but she was debating with her other self whether she should took the offer or not. Of course, it could be fun to match make other person, but not when the person is your own crush.

"Yes, if you're up to it, I'll tell you who Maki-san is and what we're up to," Youko grinned a fox-ish grin. It had been long since she last grinned like that. The thought alone already made her want to smile, or grin, or maybe smirk. She couldn't tell what the exact thing would cause her.

Suzu contemplated for a short while. Did she really love Haruka that much to the point that she would forfeit her own happiness for his happiness? She had never thought of that before, and she wasn't even recognizing those soft gazes Haruka directed at his master almost all the time.

"All right," she agreed. She decided that it will be better if Haruka is happy. Even if she forced her love to him, he wouldn't be happy, and it would make her unhappy as well. And anyway, she wanted to know how he will react when he knew it was their schemes. Not that he would get angry to the point where he would kill them.

"Okay, first, let's start with who is Maki-san," Youko started, shoving her kimono sleeve upwards a bit, "You do feel that she has boyish features in her, no?" she asked in a manner that Suzu didn't think she could. It was as if she came from the era before the Meiji restoration or something. The way she spoke was old-fashioned.

"Yes," Suzu nodded in answer. She felt that the so-called Maki looked like a boy. Her face is pretty but cool, her hair is long, but not like the other girl's. Her smile is sweet, but it doesn't look like a girl's smile. It looked more like a boy's gentle smile. "Everything she has looks like a boy's," she added.

"That's right," Youko nodded, "And that's because she's actually a guy," she started, "She, or should I say he, is born with the name Ichinomiya Makoto, does that ring a bell?" she asked the little girl who looked like she was deep in thought for some time, before realization struck her like a lightning.

"Does that mean he's Kantarou's relative?" Suzu asked. She wasn't sure yet, so she couldn't be specific. She knew that Makoto couldn't be his cousin, since they look almost alike. What with the ruby eyes and the silver hair. They got to be siblings at least. "I mean, his sibling," she added after she had come to the conclusion.

"Yes, precisely, he's Kan-chan's older brother," Youko nodded her head. She was proud of Suzu's deductive skills, but if she was given that much clue, she must know who he is, otherwise, she's dumb or something. "He's been standing up for Kan-chan and has always supported Kan-chan in his search for the demon-eater," she explained.

"Standing up?" Suzu asked. She didn't know anything about Kantarou's past, so she didn't know about this. She didn't even know that Kantarou had been searching for the demon eater for years. All she knew was Kantarou is living under the same roof with Youko and Haruka.

"Yes," Youko nodded, a serious expression crossed her face as she remembered what Kantarou had told her, "He was always bullied by the other kids because he has strong connection with the spirit world," she explained, "And that happens to Makoto-san as well, being the future successor of the shrine and all," she added with a sigh.

"And every time Kantarou gets bullied, Makoto-san will always stand up for him?" Suzu asked. She received a nod as a reply from the fox demon, and so, she continued. "And, what about the shrine? I haven't seen him in any of the shrines near here," she asked again, out of curiosity.

"I suppose you haven't," Youko said, "He had been running the shrine at the isolated part of the town, although nearby" she explained, "Though the shrine is quite famous for the shaman, I mean, Makoto-san, it's a bit too isolated –it's in the middle of a dense forest- and people don't usually go there," she finished with a sigh. "Life's harsh," she added jokingly.

"Oh, I've heard of it," Suzu exclaimed suddenly. She remembered her father telling her about a famous shrine in the forest near the mountain that is situated in the town. He had visited it regularly to pay respect to their ancestors' spirits through the shaman in the shrine. "My father often visits it," she added.

"Anyway, Makoto-san is a shaman, he can call a spirit from the dead world and bring it here," Youko explained, "He has been tending to the shrine whenever there's a festival, and he also takes care of the beings there," she stopped for a while, trying to remember what else had Makoto told her, "Oh, and he's now taking a break since the surroundings of the shrine is going to be replanted, or something," she added.

"And? Where is he going to stay at?" Suzu asked. "He can stay with me, my father won't mind," she offered, knowing full well that her father would be very happy instead at the presence of the shaman who had been helping him for these past years. "Or is he going to stay here?" she asked.

"I don't know yet, I think he's going to talk about it with Kan-chan first," Youko answered as she shrugged, "I don't think he would want to be a bother, since he told me that he would be working part time somewhere and so, he wouldn't be able to help us with the matchmaking attempts all the time," she told the young girl.

"Working part time? Where?" Suzu asked, again, out of curiosity. Maybe, just maybe, he would be working at a tea shop or something as a maid. That would be just fine. Or maybe a model? Why not? He would make a perfect model. At least in her opinion. It wasn't like he has a bad look or something.

"Well, he said something about being a fortune teller or something, but I'm not quite sure," Youko narrowed her eyes nearly into slits, "His fortune telling skill is quite formidable, is it not? I have heard that he hands out the most accurate fortune telling ever," she asked.

"Yes, my father says so," Suzu nodded, "When will he start working, and when we will start our matchmaking attempts?" she asked, a bit worked up by now. She had never been a matchmaker, and she wanted to know how does it feel to be one. Maybe it's fun.

"For that matter, we'll have to wait for further instruction from Makoto-san," Youko said, before a grin start spreading across her features once again, "Although he had given us our first mission," she said, and shoved a paper into Suzu's hand, before the little girl broke into a grin as well.

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Meanwhile, at a certain tea shop at the heart of the small town, two guys with silver hair sat in one of the tables and were sitting in front of each other. Two cups of tea were served in front of them, but none had been touched. They were content with their conversation that they had forgotten about the tea and the two plates of cake served in front of them as well.

"And so, I decided to stay at your home," a guy with long silver hair said as he smiled widely. He batted his hair to the back and stared at his little brother. "You wouldn't mind, would you?" he asked, his elbows placed on top of the battle while his fingers were intertwined together.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't," the other guy replied with a quick shake of his head. He had silver hair, just like the first guy, but the difference is, his hair is short, unlike the first guy who has long silver hair. "I would be happy to have you in my house," he added with a smile, which looked more like a grin.

"That's good to hear," the first guy nodded, "But I won't be bothering you and your boyfriend, I'll be over there and build a fortune teller stand as a part time job while I'm staying at your house until the shrine is usable again," he said so fast that the second guy nearly missed what he said. He finally took the fork and started cutting through the cake and ate a piece of it.

A good ten seconds passed in silence, save for the clanking noise the plate made when the fork came into touch with it, before the second silver haired guy finally caught what his older brother had said and meant. "Aniki! He's not my boyfriend!" he protested as his face turned into an interesting shade of red.

"Oh really? Then why are you blushing?" Makoto, the older brother, snickered at the sight. It's so fun to tease his little brother. Though he always stood up for him whenever the other kids bullied him, it didn't mean that he didn't like to tease him. It was fun and he liked something fun.

"I'm not blushing!" Kantarou, the little brother, protested, though his attempt to protest seemed futile since his face turned into a darker shade of red. He finally decided to ignore his older brother's constant snickering and just eat the cake. He wouldn't let it go waste. Not when he had no money to buy food later.

But hey, if he didn't have any money to buy food later, what would they have for dinner? He hadn't thought of that, but maybe he could ask Makoto for help. He was always so kind anyway, helping with the groceries wouldn't make him mad, right? They could just go shopping before they went home since it was still three in the afternoon.

"Then are you having a fever?" Makoto asked as he got into a laughing fit once again, which Kantarou tried to ignore. Sure, his laughter wasn't loud and obnoxious, but he didn't like it whenever he laughed because of him. Damn. Why doesn't his brother get a crush or something so he could get revenge?

And so, he ignored the last comment and continued on eating his share of cake. He had chosen a chocolate cake with sliced cheese on top of it, but he wasn't afraid of getting fat. Not when he thought he got enough exercise and he got enough mental stress to make him lost weight.

By the time Kantarou had finished his share of cake, Makoto had –surprisingly- finished his share of cake and tea. He was a quick eater, and if memory served, Makoto had won thirty times in a row whenever Kantarou challenged him into an eating contest. He even finished the big bowl of ramen in a bloody fifteen minutes.

Kantarou was now sipping on his tea while Makoto stared at him, eyes glinting with mischief that made Kantarou felt uneasy. So he was right after all. Whenever Makoto came searching for him, he brought doom along with him. It's as if he's a doom bringer, and he wasn't far from that.

"Ne, Kan-chan," Makoto started. After getting no reply, his grin grew wider, and he continued, "Have you done _that_ with him?" he asked innocently, as if he was asking what kind of cake he ordered.

Kantarou immediately choked on his tea. He nearly spat the tea out of his mouth when he heard the question. It was stupid. "Of course not!" he shouted at the grinning silver haired man in front of him. What was he thinking, anyway? Did he expect his little brother to lose his innocence earlier than himself?

"Oh?" Makoto looked surprised, but it wasn't pure surprise, it looked like a mock surprise, "I thought you have," he said calmly, calling for the servant to hand them their bill. "And you've stayed with him for a long time, no? You really disappoint me," he continued to ramble as he shook his head slowly.

"Disappointed of what?" Kantarou was near snapping. He looked like he was ready to snap at any second. He gripped at his tea cup's handle and nearly crushed it, if not for fear that the café would ask him to pay for the thing he broke.

"You don't even stay in the same room with him, right?" Makoto asked. "I knew it," he sighed when he received a nod as a reply. "And I thought a master-slave relationship is the most common," he said slowly as the waiter came to give them their bill.

"Most common… right, you wish," Kantarou rolled his eyes as he continued to sip on his tea that was left unfinished before. It was an earl grey tea. He didn't have anything against English tea, so he had ordered that one while his brother had ordered a cup of Chinese tea.

"Hey, I'm only stating the truth," Makoto defended himself, "If not the obvious," he added as a smirk began to grow on his face again. He stared at the bill and took out his wallet to pay for it before he shoved the wallet back to its original place, but where, Kantarou couldn't tell.

"Can't we stop talking about him?" Kantarou nearly pleaded just for his brother to stop teasing him. Once he had started, he wouldn't stop. That's just the way he is. "I want to pass my day in peace," he added as he turned tare with trails of tears running from his eyes as he closed them while he sniffed.

"Okay, okay, you look like a stuffed doll like that, you know?" Makoto said. Suddenly, he took out a camera and took a picture of bawling Kantarou, although it wouldn't be called bawling. "I bet he'll like this," he grinned as he looked at the one-time use camera in his hand.

"Where did you get that?" Kantarou was surprised, or maybe shocked. He didn't expect that. "Give me that!" he demanded as his hand reached out for the camera. He suddenly felt the sudden urge to just take it away from his brother's hand and destroy it then burn it.

"Well, I always have my source for things like this," Makoto smirked smugly as he put the camera away to keep Kantarou from taking it away from him. "Now that I've paid the bill, you should hurry up and finish that cup of tea," he said as his gaze moved to the aforementioned cup of tea that was still filled with half of the cup's content.

"You know what, I was about to finish it if you weren't disturbing me," Kantarou pouted and took the cup of tea to his lips, slowly gulping the content down contentedly. It was already cold for being left too long, but the strong taste was still there and it made his throat felt strange.

"You look so cute," Makoto mock squealed at the sight of a pouting Kantarou, "I bet he'll like this one as well," he said and took out another one-time use camera from his kimono sleeve and took a picture of Kantarou, surprising the younger man.

"Just how much cameras do you have?" he asked as he slammed the cup down, nearly cracking the handle, "Oops," he said as he put the cup down once again, gentler this time, "Anyway, do you have something like a magic pocket in there or something?" he eyed the kimono sleeve warily as if a youkai would suddenly pop out from there.

"Not too much," Makoto waved his hand as he put the camera away again, "And it's not a one-time use camera though it looked like one," he said with a laugh.

"So it seems," Kantarou sighed. He had to endure his brother's strange streaks if he wanted to be _alive_ when his brother left for the shrine since they probably would be roommates because they _are_ brothers. He could only hope that his sanity could stand it.

"Oh, and you don't have to worry about sharing a room with me, Youko-chan prepared another room for me," Makoto said, reading through the other's train of thoughts.

"Eh? Where will you sleep then?" Kantarou asked. He didn't remember having more than three bedrooms in his house. Youko used one, Haruka used one, and he himself used one. Does that mean his brother is going to stay in the study?

"About that," Makoto started, "It's still a secret," he said, emphasizing the word secret while his eyes glinted mischievously. It made a shiver ran down Kantarou's spine.

"Err… yeah, I guess…" he stammered.

"Anyway, let's go now, it's not good to overstay our welcome," Makoto said as he stood up from his seat, turning to face the exit door. "Where are you going after this?" he asked.

"I'm going on a shopping, we need something for dinner," Kantarou said as he stood up as well. "That okay with you?" he asked.

"Why not?" Makoto asked back, a smile on his face. "Whatever for my cute little brother with his cute youkai servant and handsome boyfriend," he hissed the last three words, and Kantarou barely caught what he said.

"I told you he's not!" Kantarou protested as a blush crept back to his face. "Damn you, aniki," he cursed slightly at the retreating figure of Makoto who was laughing.

When they were outside, they made their way to the marketplace, quickly blending in with the crowd that happened to be shopping for dinner as well.

'Now,' Makoto thought, 'I wonder if they've done what I told them to,'

**End of Chapter Two**

Asagi: there, four bloody pages and I finished this in a friggin' one week

Byaku: more or less

Asagi: yeah, usually, I only take several hours to finish a chapter

Byaku: she means that this is a record

Asagi: shut up, Byaku

Byaku: anyway, just humor her and leave a review okay?

Asagi: I mean, I hope you enjoyed what you have just read, and please be kind enough as to leave a review for me, okay?

Byaku: or she'll delay this project. She seems to be playing a lot and that's why this one took one week

Asagi: shut up Byaku. Oh, and thanks to Eclipsed Rose-san, for being the first reviewer, and to Tora Macaw-san. The separator you told me really works, thank you very much, and to kittykat-san as well. Thank you for reviewing


	3. Chapter Three

**Jealousy**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Byaku: another chapter of the story with the oh-so-cliché title by a crazed maniac beside me

Asagi: did I tell you to say that? (rolls eyes)

Byaku: this sure takes a lot of time as well

Asagi: hope you enjoy

Byaku: she doesn't own Tactics, you know how bad her drawing is

Asagi: basically put, I don't own Tactics (sweatdropped)

Reply to reviewers:

**Tora Macaw**: yes, he is. I like the name Makoto, so… just kidding. Yes, thank you for the separators, it really helps me. I was really frustrated when the separators disappeared just like that, but the problem's solved. Glad you enjoyed this

**Eclipsed Rose**: hell yeah, you're very good at guessing stories. Glad you enjoyed this one as well. And hope you enjoyed the third chapter, since it's been a bit hurried in my opinion, well, I've only got several hours to do this one to make up for my one month absence so… anyway, enjoy!

**Rubydream**: thank you very much! Yeah, I wanna see him as well, but whenever I write about him, I was thinking of Souma Ayame from Fruits Basket. You should check him out, I made Makoto resemble him, so Ayame should give you some images of Makoto. And thank you for reviewing

**Chapter Three -- New Roommate**

When they left the tea shop, it was still three o'clock in the afternoon. And so, they decided to go on a shopping spree before they went back to their home, wait, to his home, since only one of the two silver haired men owned the house.

"So, what do you plan on having for dinner?" the shorter yet older silver haired man asked his little brother who was currently searching for last week's shopping list that his youkai servant had given him for a who-knows-what reason. "Well?" he asked as he stared at the man before him who was searching for the piece of paper frantically.

"Wait, I'm sure it's somewhere near here," he said as he started to search in his pockets. He took out a piece of paper, finally, and smoothed it before he started reading the list, "First, we'll need turnips, leeks, onions, garlic, beef, tofu, eggs-" he started reading the list.

"Okay, I got it, let's just go now, okay?" the older man stopped the younger one from getting any further. He was sure that if he let him do so, he would have to wait for a good five minutes before he finished reading the list out loud.

"Okay," the younger man nodded his head as he folded the paper, trying to make it as smooth as it could be, before they walked to the center of the marketplace together, trying to find the aforementioned goods.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile, in a certain old Japanese house, three people inhabited it. The only male in the house was still in the study, looking out of the window while the two girls started to pick up dried futons from the cloth hanger at the back garden.

"Haruka-chan!" one of the two girl, the one with shoulder length dark brown hair, called for the only male in the house who goes by the name Haruka, a girlish name in fact, but that fact didn't make him hate his name.

He stood up and walked over to the back garden slowly, and coolly. Normally, girls would swoon at the sight and started chasing him around, but since there were no other girls other than the two girls, the horde of girls didn't start chasing him. "What?" he asked when he finally arrived at the back garden.

The girl didn't reply immediately, she let a fox-ish grin grace her feature before she pointed at the pile of futons on the floor. "Help me carry these to your room, my room, and Kan-chan's room," she commanded, more than requested.

"You always do that by yourself before," Haruka stated matter-of-factly. The girl would always do the housework all by herself, but why did she ask for his help now?

"Youko-san is going to take care of Maki-san's room," another girl, a girl with shoulder length light brown hair, interrupted. She held some pillows in her hand before dropping them on top of the futons. "She's staying here," she said, ignoring the strange look Haruka shot at her.

"Yes, what Suzu-chan said is true," Youko nodded her head as she placed her hands on her hips, "And if you wouldn't mind, please bring these futons to Kan-chan's room," she said as she pointed two futons, on with the blue stripe-patterned quilt and the other with black feather-patterned quilt.

"But that one is mine," Haruka stated coldly as his eyes fell on top of the futon with black feather-patterned quilt. He wasn't going to let a stranger use his futon freely.

"I know that is yours," Youko blinked her eyes at Haruka's direction, "What's wrong with that?" she asked, as if she was asking the most obvious question to him.

"I don't want her to use anything that is mine," Haruka rolled his eyes. He hated having to voice out his hatred towards someone, especially when that hatred wasn't really based on anything. The stranger hadn't done anything wrong to him.

"Of course he- she's not going to use your futon," Youko narrowed her eyes at Haruka, before she started laughing, "_You_'re going to sleep in Kan-chan's room, I'll sleep in yours and she'll sleep in mine," she explained. "That okay with you?" she asked, mischief clearly glinting in her eyes.

After thinking for a good two minutes, he finally agreed. At least the stranger wasn't using anything that is his. Youko used his room, not the stranger. And why he kept addressing the stranger as the stranger was still a mystery. Maybe just because he wanted to emphasize the point that he's a stranger, at least to him.

"Now, go get to work," Youko commanded as she shoved the two futons, along with the quilts and the pillows, to Haruka's hands. "Fold them and place them in the wardrobe like I usually do," she instructed before the tall man nodded curtly and walked over to Kantarou's room.

She turned over to the little girl beside her who smiled at her. "Mission one, succeeded," they exclaimed gleefully as they gave each other a high five, before they realized that they still had to take care of the two futons on the floor.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hm, let's see," the younger silver haired man mumbled as he loomed over the stacks of dirt-covered turnips. They looked like they were just taken out of the ground, but he wasn't so sure since at that time, no turnips had fully bloomed, at least at certain places in the town.

"Just pick the big ones," the older silver haired man stated. They had gone to over three shops just to look for the _fresh_ turnips, which he doubted even existed in this kind of time, and had bought nothing at all from the previous shops.

"Ne, Aniki, do you think these are fresh?" the younger man asked as he looked up at his older brother. "Youko always protests if I don't get the fresh ones," he sighed.

"So that's why," Makoto rolled his eyes. "Kantarou, just pick anything you want, and let's get this over with," he sighed, "She won't notice, I swear," he pointed several turnips and called for the shopkeeper to put them in a plastic bag for them.

They went to the next series of shops to shop for the remaining ingredients for that night's dinner. First, they decided to buy some tofu and eggs, before they continued on buying leeks –which Makoto protested since he doesn't like leeks at all- and onions.

"I think these should be enough," Kantarou mumbled, but stopped when he saw a fishmonger and a butcher. "Are you still allergic to beef and ham?" he asked Makoto who was trying to refrain himself from sneezing and scratching his arms because of the itch. "I think that answered my question," he blinked and walked over to the fishmonger.

Makoto sighed heavily. He was allergic to them since he was a child, and so, he had always eats vegetables and fish, nothing else, other than rice. "I'll be waiting over there, okay?" he shouted as he pointed a snack store.

Kantarou looked over, then nodded. He chose the fresh looking fish from the stack of fishes that started to stink, and accepted them from the fishmonger. He walked over to the snack store, intending on asking Makoto to go home, and to give him the change as well. "Ma-" he started, but was cut off when he noticed that Makoto was staring intensely –if not glaring- at the two bottles of assorted candies.

"Oh, Kan-chan," he looked up and smiled at his little brother when he had acknowledged him, "Which one do you like the best?" he asked as he stepped back a bit to allow Kantarou to take a closer look at the candies.

He stared at the two bottles. The first one contained mostly white-colored confeitos, while the other one contained mostly blood red colored strawberry-like candies. "I like confeitos," he stated with a smile. It had been a while since he last ate candies.

"Alright then," Makoto nodded, "Ojii-san, please get us a bag of confeitos," he requested and the shopkeeper nodded at him. He took a paper bag and shoved some confeitos inside them before handing it to Makoto.

"Arigatou," Kantarou nodded at the shopkeeper after Makoto had paid for the confeitos and before they got out of the shop. "Ne, can I have half of this?" Kantarou asked jokingly.

"Of course, but remember to share it with your boyfriend, and I'll share with Youko-chan," Makoto nodded calmly as they started making their way to Kantarou's house.

"This is the third time I tell you he's not!" Kantarou protested, nearly dropping the bags of groceries in his hand. He humphed and looked away from his brother who only grinned as a reply.

"Tadaima!" Makoto exclaimed as he slid the front door open, feeling the must since he wasn't carrying anything while Kantarou was carrying the groceries.

"Okaeri nasai," Youko greeted them as she was about to iron the dried clothes. "Ah, I see that you've bought things for today's dinner," she said as she noticed the bags of groceries in Kantarou's hands.

"Yes," Kantarou nodded and handed her the bags of groceries, "I'll be in my study if you need me, I need to finish the article before Reiko-san gets mad," he gave them a wistful looking smile before he entered his study.

"Oh, and Makoto-san, we've done what you asked us to do," Youko smiled at the silver haired man in front of her.

"We?" he asked. He didn't remember asking anyone else to do what he had asked Youko to do.

"Yes, me and the girl you met before you went to the tea shop," Youko nodded, "She has gone home, but she said she'll come over tomorrow if you've got the next plan," she explained.

"I see," Makoto nodded his head, "That's good to hear, the more the merrier," he smiled at the youkai servant before him, "Anyway, did he say something when you asked him to move?" he asked.

"Well, I'll just have to tell you that I'll be staying at his room instead, he doesn't seem to like the idea of you staying in his room," Youko sighed, "He's a bit over-protective about his things," she added with a pouty look on her face.

"That's okay with me, Youko-chan," Makoto laughed a bit, "As long as the mission is accomplished," he added, his eyes started gleaming with mischief.

"So, Makoto-san," she started, but was shushed by Makoto who saw Haruka approaching. "So, Maki-san," she repeated, using his false name this time, "What do you want for dinner?" she asked with a sweet smile.

"Ah, I don't see you coming, Haruka-san," Makoto nodded at the other man who looked unhappy.

"What is it, Haruka-chan?" Youko asked.

"Where is my rice bowl?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"At the kitchen, I've just washed it," Youko answered as she pointed the kitchen.

Haruka stared for a while, before he nodded his head and walked off to the kitchen.

Youko sighed when he was out of sight, and turned her attention back to Makoto, "Do you think he knows?" she asked Makoto who was staring at Haruka.

"No, I don't think he knows yet," Makoto smiled at her, "Don't worry about that, anyway, what were you going to say?" he asked kindly.

"Eh? Oh, I was really asking about what do you want for dinner," Youko answered. "I figure that since I know what they dislike, I have to know what _you_ dislike," she added.

"Hm, I'm allergic to beef and ham, but that's about it," Makoto answered, "Well, I'll do a quick survey around the house for now, okay?" he asked and Youko nodded in return. "Oh, and be sure to tell Kantarou about his new _roommate_," he said one last time before he started to walk through the corridor.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It was nearly dinner, but the silver haired man hadn't come to the dining room yet. She feared that he didn't know the way to the dining room and was currently stuck somewhere, lost. She decided not to worry about him, and decided to just call the others first, and so, he went to Kantarou's room, which was situated on the second floor.

"Haruka-chan," she called at the man who was staring out of the window, 'He seems to like to stare out of the window now,' she thought to herself, "It's dinner time," she said.

The man nodded and stood up from his sitting spot before he approached the paper door and walked past her, then down to the first floor quietly.

"Strange," she mumbled, "He doesn't do that before," she stared, before she shrugged and decided to let the subject drop. She walked down, and entered Kantarou's study to call for the silver haired exorcist.

"Kan-chan," she called as she slid the paper door open, "Dinner time, Haruka-chan is already there," she said.

"Yes, yes," Kantarou nodded, currently staring at the blank papers in front of him, "Where's Aniki?" he asked, knowing that it was safe to call him Aniki since Haruka wasn't there.

"He's off to take a stroll around the house," Youko answered simply. "Oh, and I need to tell you, since Makoto-san is going to use my room, I'll use Haruka-chan's and he'll be sleeping in your room," she said a bit hastily.

"Okay, okay," Kantarou answered off-handedly as he waved his hand idly, still staring at the blank papers while he looked completely bored.

Youko smirked. She knew full well that Kantarou wasn't listening to her, but that didn't matter. As long as she had informed him of that, it wasn't her fault anymore. She closed the door silently and started walking around the house to search for a trace of the aforementioned Makoto.

When she was at least three meters away from the paper door that led to the study, she heard a very girlish ear-splitting scream coming from the study.

"WHAT?"

**End of Chapter Three**

Byaku: finally finished

Asagi: I rush things a bit, since I'm going to be off, I made anticipation so that the first day I came back I could upload this one

Byaku: but what about your e-mail account? Won't it be shut down if you don't check it in one month?

Asagi: well, as long as there's MSN messenger and as long as my computer is turned on, I don't need to worry too much, anyway, my cousin will be over every Tuesday, and I think that he'll at least let me sign in first, or I simply could ask him to do that

Byaku: you talk like a crazed paranoid people, you know that?

Asagi: shut up Byaku

Byaku: you really do sound like one

Asagi: I _am_ paranoid

Byaku: so it seems, so it seems


	4. Chapter Four

**Jealousy**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Asagi: fourth chapter, had to rewrite this due to all data loss

Byaku: all of her stories are deleted

Asagi: yeah and I have to rewrite them all

Disclaimer: I don't own Tactics

**Chapter Four**

The girl with shoulder length dark brown hair sighed. She couldn't tell which one is her master's voice and which one is a banshee's voice anymore. They really sound alike.

"What was that?" a black haired man asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, looking at both the study, and the window. Maybe there was a banshee out there, he didn't know.

"It's Kan-chan," the girl sighed once again. "I'm going to look for Maki-san now, can you please ask him to go to the dining room now, Haruka-chan?" the girl asked Haruka who merely nodded before he walked towards the study, still not believing that the scream was, indeed, Kantarou's scream.

He didn't like scream, and he surely didn't like horror movies, so forget about Scream, okay?

"What's wrong?" he asked as he stared at his silver haired master who was staring blankly at the pieces of paper in front of him, stiff like a statue.

"Erm, nothing wrong," Kantarou mumbled. He couldn't believe it was him who screamed like that, it seemed like there was someone shouting near him at that time.

"Youko asked you to go to the dining room," Haruka stated simply. He simply stared as Kantarou nodded and stood up, deciding to just leave the scripts be. It wasn't like his life was hanging onto it, anyway. He could decline the offer to write that article at any time, maybe a reason or two would be good enough.

"Let's go now," Kantarou asked, but Haruka shook his head.

"You go first," Haruka smiled a bit at Kantarou. He opened the door for him, and closed it when he was already out of the study. He sighed and turned towards one of the corner. "I know you're there, get out," he said coldly and sharply.

"Such sharp instincts, just like a wolf's," a person with long silver hair praised as he walked out of his hiding place, at the darkness of the corner, behind several bookshelves.

"I don't need your compliment," Haruka snorted, "What were you doing there?" he asked, still cold and sharp. He had noticed his presence since the first time he entered, and he was surprised that Kantarou didn't notice his presence there.

"My, my, aren't you protective," he chuckled a bit at the accusing and protective at the same time attitude. He liked it, especially if it was directed to his own little brother. It made him feel like he could leave his little brother under his care peacefully.

"I asked you what you were doing there," Haruka repeated his question, colder and sharper this time. He didn't like the way Makoto turn the tables.

"I was only keeping an eye on my boyfriend, is it wrong?" Makoto asked teasingly. He let his eyes sparkle under the light of the lamp, and it made him looked more evil than ever.

Haruka decided to keep silent, before he finally walked out of the study and walked back to the dining room while Makoto stayed there, a smile grew on his face, before he decided to tell Youko that he was there, so that she didn't have to search for him anymore, since she seemed to be searching around the entire house.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile Kantarou was looking around the dining room. There still were no food and even no rice there. He sighed and walked to the kitchen. It seemed like Youko had prepared dinner, but hadn't bring it to the dining room. He walked over to the rice cooker and brought it to the dining room.

"What are you doing?" came the gentle voice of Haruka. It was only in Kantarou's opinion. In fact, it was half cold half gentle. He walked over and helped Kantarou carry the big rice cooker. How Youko was able to bring it to the dining room on her own was beyond them. The fox demon had never failed to amaze them.

"Thanks," Kantarou muttered his thanks as he stood up, preparing to go back to the kitchen to take out the dishes. Just then, the door slid open, revealing two figures. Both Makoto and Youko were standing there.

"Oh, sorry I haven't taken the dish out yet," Youko apologized, seeing that Haruka was still holding onto the rice cooker. "I'll take them out now," she said and with that said, she walked to the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, Kantarou, before I forget," Makoto started, "Tomorrow, meet me at the shrine, I'll show someone to you, he's going to be your guardian spirit," he explained.

"Guardian spirit?" Kantarou raised an eyebrow at that term. Wasn't he an exorcist and not a shaman? "What for?" he asked.

"You'll know," Makoto smirked, "And he's a samurai, it'll be better if you have two guardians that one, isn't that right?" he asked as he smiled at Kantarou and Haruka.

"I still don't think I'll need a guardian spirit," Kantarou mumbled, "But I'll try," he added.

"Guardian spirit? You mean Hikawa Reiki-san?" Youko asked as she walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food with both of her hand. She put them down on the table and laid the tray on the tatami right beside her.

"You've seen him, Youko-chan?" Kantarou asked and Youko answered with a nod. "How does he look like?" Kantarou asked again, "You know, I'm not fond of scary looking people," he added as he imagined a picture of a samurai glaring at him, his blade covered with blood, as well as his face.

"So you're not fond of Haruka-chan?" Youko asked as innocently as she could.

"I didn't say that!" Kantarou protested. "Anyway, how does he look like?" he asked again.

"Well, he has sharp coffee black eyes, long silky black hair, and slender figure, even though his sword mastery was far beyond his master," Youko tried to describe, "Anyway, you'll see him tomorrow, it's better if you see him for yourself," she added, stating the fact.

"Okay," Kantarou nodded, and they started to eat dinner.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Later that night, Youko could be seen sitting in front of a telephone, calling a certain short fair brown haired girl. She prepared to lower her voice until it was barely a whisper since she was sitting in front of Kantarou and Haruka's room. Damn stinginess.

"Hello?" the voice of a little girl was heard from the other end of the line, and Youko almost reflexively replied, "Suzu-chan?" she asked.

"Yes, who is this?" Suzu asked, her voice sounding a little bit sleepy. Maybe she was in the middle of her sleep when she had called. It wasn't strange since it was ten at that time.

"It's Youko," Youko whispered, "Do you have school tomorrow? We're going to meet at the shrine at two in the afternoon, that okay with you?" Youko explained and asked.

"What for?" Suzu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's Mission Two: Make Haruka Jealous," Youko covered her mouth with her hand to refrain herself from snickering, or even worse, laughing out loud. It was Makoto's idea.

Makoto had said that if Kantarou was the one to be made jealous, he wouldn't admit it, and he would start his if-Haruka-is-happy-then-I'm-happy nonsense speech, so it's better if Haruka's the one to be made jealous.

"How?" Suzu asked, the sleepiness in her voice vanished all of a sudden. She sounded like a child who was going to be given a candy or an expensive toy.

"Well, Makoto-san has a friend who is an earthbound spirit, and he's planning on letting his friend be Kantarou's guardian spirit," Youko explained.

"Earthbound spirit? I feel like I'm watching the anime show titled Shaman King right now," Suzu commented, making a 'tsk' noise occasionally.

"It's not far from that since Makoto-san _is_ a shaman," Youko agreed. "Anyway, if you can, come to the shrine near here at two in the afternoon, okay?" she asked for agreement once again.

"Okay, I'll be there tomorrow," Suzu agreed eagerly. "See you tomorrow then, Youko-san," she said and then hung up. Youko snickered and walked back towards her own room.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile, in Kantarou's room, the two males were busy setting up their futons. Kantarou sat on his futon, staring at the dark starless sky through the window and Haruka did the same.

"The moon is beautiful tonight," Kantarou commented. The moon was full at that night, and so, even if the sky was starless, it wasn't pitch black.

"Yes it is," Haruka replied off-handedly, several thoughts bugging his mind. He was still thinking about Makoto, whom he called stranger up to now.

"Something in your mind?" Kantarou asked without looking back at the ogre-eater tengu behind him. He leaned back and supported himself with both of his hands.

"How do you tell?" Haruka asked. It didn't sound like he was curious. It more sounded like he only wanted to know, but if Kantarou didn't tell him, it wouldn't matter.

"Telepathy?" Kantarou asked, but it was more like he asked himself before he laughed a bit. "Anyway, what's on your mind?" he asked, this time turning around to face Haruka.

"I was just wondering about that one who came today," Haruka said, effectively avoiding the name Maki because he didn't like Maki and he didn't want to mention that name even only once.

"You mean a- err, eh," he was about to spill the beans but he stopped. 'What was his name again? Makoto… Makoto… argh damn stupid name!' Kantarou cursed as he couldn't remember Makoto's fake name.

"You don't remember your own girlfriend's name?" Haruka asked, amusement heard in his voice even though he didn't like the idea of Makoto being Kantarou's girlfriend.

"Well, err," Kantarou tried to remember again. What was his name again? "Oh, right, Maki!" he suddenly remembered, "What about her?" he asked.

"No, just wondering," Haruka shook his head. "Is she an exorcist as well?" he asked.

"Hm," Kantarou mumbled as he struck a thinking pose. An exorcist… it sounded like it, but Makoto wasn't as good as him at exorcising, though he could force a spirit to go to the spirit world, take a spirit back to the human world, do spirit unity or oversoul. They are his strong points. "Can't say so, I think he's a bit more like a shaman or an itako," he mumbled.

"He?" Haruka asked. Was he hearing things? He hadn't heard about shaman or itako so he didn't know what they are. Heck, it was the first time he heard it.

"Did I just say he? Of course I meant she!" Kantarou laughed uneasily as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, he, she," he corrected, "Has the power to exorcise, but not that strong," he explained.

"I see," Haruka mumbled. So she was an exorcist as well, then it was nothing strange. To keep the blood in them, usually a family only let their successor marry another with the same ability with them.

"She specializes in handling spirits, that's why she's a medium," Kantarou sighed, but smiled. It was since they were little that Makoto was trained to be a shaman. It wasn't against his own will, but the training was hard, and Kantarou knew it. He had witnessed it for himself.

When they were little, their father let them choose, one of them has to be a shaman while the other an exorcist. They were gifted with the ability to exorcise since they were little, so Makoto chose to be a shaman to let Kantarou undergo easier trainings. Because of that, Makoto's ability to exorcise was behind Kantarou's.

"Was she a childhood friend of yours?" Haruka asked, noticing the wistful smile on Kantarou's face. He was interested by the fact that both of them knew each other very well. And did I mention _very_?

"More than that," Kantarou answered. "She was always there for me whenever I'm down, whenever I'm exhausted from the all-day training even though she undergoes harder training than me," he trailed off, remembering their childhood. Those days were treasured memories for them.

He could remember vividly those days when they played at the side of the lake with the youkais, always convincing him that he would someday find the onikui tengu, break his seal and be stronger so that everyone will acknowledge the existence of youkais. That had been his dream since he was a child.

"And I love her, she's like a mother to me, since mother's death," he whispered.

"I see, sorry for asking such things," Haruka remarked. He didn't know Kantarou's past very well, and Kantarou had always tried to hide his past from him. But why was he telling him everything now?

"It's okay, it's good to remember such days," Kantarou replied as a serene smile plastered on his face, "But some time later, when I get older, I'll remember these days when I'm with you," he continued.

"You better be," Haruka replied, a smile creeping up on his face. "Just go to sleep, you've got many things to do tomorrow," he said as he himself went under the cover.

"Oyasumi," Kantarou said as he crept under the cover and quickly drifting off to sleep.

"Oyasumi," Haruka replied, he watched as his master drifted off to sleep. And when he had made sure that Kantarou was asleep, he said, "And I'll remember these days when I'm with you as well,"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Meanwhile, outside of their room, Makoto was leaning on the wall, listening to the conversation from the start to the end. He remembered their past so clearly as well, as they are treasured memories. He was always happy to be there for Kantarou, because he could undergo those trainings were because of him.

He liked the way they talked, it seemed as if they were making promises to each other to remember each other later. It sounded so comforting to know that you wouldn't be forgotten by someone you wouldn't forget. He knew how it felt. It was what he felt when he knew Kantarou never forgot him.

He smiled to himself, before he walked downstairs and waved to them as he murmured, "Good night, newlywed couple,"

**End of Chapter Four**

Hope you enjoy. The last part was a bit too nostalgic, but none of you are anti nostalgic like Nittle Grasper's song, are you?

Please leave a review or a comment. Thank you very much.


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